Express yourself. It is later than you think.

back from the dead, as Picmonkey!

When Picnik closed in April, bought out by Google, stripped of everything that actually made it great, and then moved over to Google+1 as their basic photo editing tools, I felt like a friend had died. I would wander around on the internet, bereft and hoping to run into Picnik, even though I knew it was “no longer with us”.

Even though I know how to use Photoshop and Gimp a little bit, and realize that anything I could do in Picnik could be done on one of those desktop image manipulation programs, I just really enjoyed using Picnik. It was fun, there was an avid community of users, and it was quick, you could do it on any computer with an internet connection (handy when I was traveling) and if you knew how to layer, layer, layer the effects on offer, it was amazing what you could do.

A few similar online photo-editing sites turned up, as Picnik neared its end…really horrible, lame versions, with crappy filters, crappy stickers, supermarket home brand vanilla-style features that just highlighted how much better Picnik was.

After I rushed eagerly to check out Aviary, the site that Flickr has partnered with for photo editing since Picnik died, and found something so crude and primitive that it could have been designed by Fisher Price for 3 year olds, I gave up looking. Picnik was gone, and nothing could take its place.

Until yesterday, that is.

Yesterday, I found Picmonkey. I Googled “the best alternative to Picnik”, and was flooded with Picmonkey love in the search results.

A couple of former Picnik engineers, a rabbi, and a monkey meet in a bar.

The rabbi realizes he’s not in the middle of a corny joke so he leaves. But the monkey. The monkey starts raving wildly. He’s slapping the Picnik engineers on the back, congratulating them for pioneering the online photo editing space 6 years ago, and for enabling a whole new class of photographers to create beautiful images and hang out together. And the monkey has more ideas about time travel, connecting people, light speed, and making Brussels sprouts taste better. The engineers, they’re listening, but they’re onto something new. They scribble furiously on the backs of napkins and the edges of sleeve cuffs.

Several months later, here we are. A dynamic duo became a small dynamic team. And the world’s friendliest photo editor got a chance to start again. If you loved Picnik, PicMonkey is back in town and better than ever. It’s faster, more powerful, and easier to use. It’s the real deal you already know, plus 78% more monkey.

…Here’s who we are: a bunch of dedicated, in-the-trenches people who just want to make this online photo editor experience ridiculously great. We’re getting PicMonkey up and running, and then watch out. Keep your eyes peeled for more. Because we’re gonna keep adding more features and more tools and not stop until you scream and say “Holy Macarena, people, go home and get a life because you’ve done. it. all!”

JOY! Not only is it ‘like’ Picnik, it has nearly all the old features, plus many great new ones. It’s got a much sleeker, beautiful design, and I am lovin’ it so much, I could hug a monkey right now!

What a nice post. Thanks for sharing the Monkey love; we’re so pleased that you found us! Did you see that we released our collage tool yesterday? Let us know what you think! Cheers, Brenda (PicMonkey team)

*coughing fit* No, no, a serious and professional graphic designer probably wouldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. If you are an adept of the Creative Suite, then it isn’t likely that Picmonkey will impress you. It’s for us mere mortals, y’know…the ones who don’t own CS or a Wacom tablet…